


the benefits of board games

by jennycaakes



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Board Games, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 07:41:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5997283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennycaakes/pseuds/jennycaakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Settlers of Catan is the most complicated, annoying, stupid game in the world and Miller wants absolutely nothing to do with it. Well, until Monty offers to teach him how to play. </p><p>Or, the gang plays Catan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the benefits of board games

**Author's Note:**

> If you don't play Catan I tried to write this in a way where it was easy to understand! Catan is hilarious and nerdy and definitely a Monty Green sort of game. Hope you like it!

Miller walked into the common room with a frown, sighing audibly when he realized the table in the middle had been set up for another game of Catan.

“Really?” he muttered. “ _Again_?” 

Jasper was the one setting up the board. Miller had watched everyone play a billion times but he’d never once learned. It looked too complex. Catan was something Jasper and Monty had brought from home and somehow gotten all of their friends addicted, everyone but Miller. He’d blink and suddenly there would be dozens of colorful pieces spread out across the board. It was like Dungeons and Dragons mixed with Monopoly and that game from Parks and Rec called Cones of Dunshire. 

“Hey,” Jasper said with a frown. “Just because you’re too stubborn to learn how to play doesn’t mean it’s not _fun_.”

Miller’s frown deepened. The game always ended with people laugh-shouting at one another. Just last night Clarke had tossed her pieces across the board at Bellamy and Raven who’d made an alliance, effectively cutting her off from getting any points. 

“It’s a drama-starter.”

“Is not,” Monty said. Miller spun around to find the boy entering, looking smug. He only looked like that because he _always won_. “You should play, Nate,” he said. “You can be on my team, or something.”

Jasper made a breathy whine. “We’re doing teams?”

“No,” Monty waved his hand. “But if you want to learn,” Monty said to Miller, “then we can be on a team just the two of us.” 

Miller hesitated, ignoring the way his chest felt warm. Monty hadn’t offered this before. Bellamy had offered a million times to teach him, and others offered to help him learn it on his own. But to team up with Monty? To sit close, conferring over cards? Um, yes.

“What’s the catch?” Miller said warily. 

“Nothing,” Monty said with a smile. “I’m too good. I figure if I give you my attention so you can learn then someone else might finally have a chance of winning.” 

“Wait, yes,” Jasper chimed. “Yes. Miller, please for the love of God. If I don’t win one of these days I’m going to scream.”

“Bellamy’s a fair contender,” Monty pointed out. “Especially if he works up a trade system with Clarke.” 

“Either I’m winning,” Jasper said proudly, “or it’ll be Raven.”

“Or us,” Monty said with a grin, turning back to Miller. “You in?”

And with a deep breath he finally said, “I’m in.” 

* * *

Catan was confusing. Completely confusing. 

A typical game of Catan consisted of four players or four teams, but because there were so many of them there were added extension packs. Miller and Monty sat close on one corner of the table. Raven was beside them, and then Clarke, then Bellamy, then Jasper, and then Octavia and Lincoln (but mostly just Lincoln, because Catan wasn’t really Octavia’s thing). 

“I can’t believe they finally pulled you into it,” Octavia said to Miller looking amused. 

“You’ve got no idea what you’re getting yourself into,” Bellamy said with a grin. “You’ll be addicted like the rest of us.”

“To this?” Miller asked. “Doubt it.”

Monty nudged him hard with his elbow. “Focus, Nate,” he reminded him with a smile. Miller frowned but caught Bellamy beaming from across the table at them. Monty tipped his head slightly, motioning to the board where Clarke was setting out her pieces. “I think that’s a solid place to start,” Monty said, and Miller shrugged. He had no idea. And truthfully, he couldn’t focus on much with Monty’s warm breath against his ear. “What do you think?”

There were numbers scattered across the board, and if you had a piece on one of the numbers then you got a card for it, and those cards were used to build things. Miller licked his lips and tried to focus. Clarke had just set her pieces down in a prime position but there were plenty left.

“Uh,” Miller scanned the board another time. “We go last, right?” he asked. Because of how they rolled they’d be setting their pieces out last. “So do we want to go for Longest Road? Because we set out two pieces and we could start it.”

“Raven always goes for Longest Road,” Monty told him. “And somehow she always gets it no matter what. So we should spread out.” 

Miller knew bits and pieces about the game. If you had enough small rectangle pieces in a row you could get two bonus points, or if you had three special cards you could get two bonus points, but trying to sort it all out in his head was ridiculous. He watched as Bellamy set out his pieces next, looking smug. 

“We should wait until everyone’s down,” Miller said. “No use in planning ahead if our spot gets taken.”

“Fair,” Monty responded. 

When it was their turn to put the pieces down they conferred quietly, and Miller could feel Bellamy’s mischievous eyes on them the whole time. But eventually they placed their pieces out and prepared for the game to begin. 

* * *

Miller was confused. Trading was confusing. But Monty was so good at it that he didn’t think he really had to learn how it worked.

“So if we have any four of one card,” Monty told him, “we can trade it with the bank.”

“But we have this port?” Miller asked, gesturing to their little corner of the board. “So if we have two... is that a lamb?”

“Sheep,” Monty corrected with a smile. “Wool, technically.” 

“Okay, wool. So if we have two wool cards, we can trade with the bank for any one other card?” Monty smiled encouragingly and there was something magical about it. “I fucking hate this game,” Miller said, and Monty laughed at him. 

Across the board Lincoln and Jasper were negotiating something ridiculous, trading like six different resources with each other with Octavia sat back rolling her eyes. 

The entire goal of the game was to get ten points, and he and Monty already had six. Apparently Bellamy had seven, though Miller could only count five on the board, and Monty explained about hidden cards that had points that Bellamy had out. 

“How do you know they have _points_?” Miller muttered.

“He hasn’t flipped them,” Monty said. “You have to assume that they’re points, even if they’re not. Just to be ahead of the game.” 

Miller scanned. “So Clarke has four points on the board,” he said as he counted her turned cards. “But could have... six points?”

“Yeah, exactly.” 

Miller frowned. “We don’t have any of those cards,” he said. He grabbed Monty’s hand to look at the cards in their deck. “We can buy some.”

“I don’t like those cards,” Monty said. They were like chance cards in Monopoly. They didn’t all have hidden points on them, but all of them were good. “I don’t normally buy them,” he said.

“Well good thing we’re a team,” Miller said. “We’re buying one.” 

Monty looked incredulous and it was so damn cute, but whatever. Miller wanted to win this stupid game. And if those cards had hidden points then he wanted them. 

When it got to their turn and they made some moves (building another settlement, and buying a development card), they quickly handed off the dice. Miller clenched his teeth together to keep from smiling, and Monty’s eyes widened only slightly.

As luck would have it, they just so happened to purchase a hidden victory point.

* * *

“No, look,” Miller was murmuring. “It’ll throw them off.” He’d developed a plan, and they were one point away. “If we ask for this trade we have our two for one port, and then we can swap these cards,” he said, gesturing to the ones in his hands. “And if we build _there_  it’s in play.” 

Monty looked over the cards and then back to the board and then back to the cards. “Then that’s ten,” Monty whispered. 

“It’s ten,” Miller agreed just as quietly. Monty’s eyes were gleaming and Miller had to clench his jaw together. “You have a shitty poker face,” he said as Monty tried not to smile. “If you wreck this trade for us I swear to God, Monty.”

“We might not even need a trade if someone rolls a three,” Monty said back. “As long as no one gets ten points before us, you’re about to win your first game of Catan, Nate.” 

Miller licked his lips and Monty’s eyes dropped down to follow the motion. “You’re going to jinx us,” he murmured. 

Monty cocked an eyebrow. “I’m actually feeling pretty lucky,” he admitted. 

* * *

It was chaos.

Jasper, _of all people,_ was the one to make the trade with them. Clarke was shouting at him from across the table about how bad of an idea it was but the second the card was in Miller’s hand neither he nor Monty could fight off their smiles.

They did all of the trading with the bank, laying out their cards and their pieces, before flipping over their hidden victory point. “Ten,” Monty counted off.

“God dammit!” Bellamy shouted.

“I had nine,” Jasper whined. “You gave me the resources for ten!”

Raven groaned, “I was two away!”

Under the table Monty’s hand squeezed Miller’s knee. Lincoln looked impressed, nodding politely from where he was seated and setting down his cards. Octavia looked at Miller smugly. 

“We’ll clean it up,” Monty said with a little laugh as he set down their remaining cards. “To be fair.”

Jasper was still whining but everyone seemed to agree that was a good plan. Soon the common room cleared out and Bellamy winked, very obviously might Miller add, in his direction. 

Soon it was just Monty and Miller cleaning up the millions of pieces that Catan involved. He had a new understanding and appreciation of the game but he wasn’t entirely sure if he’d be playing again any time soon. 

“How do you feel?” Monty asked as he collected all of Clarke’s blue pieces in a baggie. 

“Strangely exhilarated,” Miller admitted. Monty’s mouth curved into a smile. “God, you’re such a nerd,” Miller said with a laugh.

“And you, are surprisingly strategic,” Monty countered. Miller looked over at the boy beside him and felt his heart stumble in his chest again. 

A compliment like that shouldn’t mean anything, especially when talking about this super nerdy board game, but from Monty it meant the world. And then he remembered the soft smiles from Monty as they played, the gentle brush of their hands under the table when they weren’t even trading cards, his warm breath on Miller’s neck. Miller dropped the bag of red pieces he was collecting and reached out for Monty to tug him toward him. And then his lips were on Monty’s, and Monty gasped into his mouth, and then he was kissing Miller back. 

They stumbled a little bit, both of their hands pulling one another closer, awkwardly bumping into the table and sending pieces scattering across the floor. Suddenly Monty pulled back, his eyes wide and his lips swollen.

“What?” Miller asked.

“Nothing,” Monty rasped. “I just--I had a dream like this once.” Miller snorted and Monty’s mouth stretched into a grin. “Dangerously close to this.” 

Miller cupped Monty’s cheek and tipped his chin back slightly. “Can we get any closer?” Miller murmured.

Monty let out a shaking breath. “Not in the common room,” he nearly gasped. “Someone could come in.” A wild laugh escaped Miller and Monty’s grin widened. And then Miller was kissing him again and Monty was kissing him back, the messy board game forgotten on the table behind them.

* * *

“ _So_ ,” Bellamy said pointedly by the time they returned to one of the rooms. It definitely didn’t take that long to clean up Catan but they were distracted, whatever. “How’d you like your first game of Catan, Miller?”

“Yeah, _Miller_ ,” Octavia agreed with a look. “Better than you expected?” 

Monty slid the board game back into it’s place on the shelf without feeding into their leading comments. 

“Don’t be bitter that I’m good at everything I do,” Miller said back to them.

Monty snorted and quickly pressed his lips together to keep from grinning. “ _Every_ thing?” Monty asked. 

“You tell me,” Miller responded with an arched eyebrow. 

Monty coughed to clear his throat. Both of them knew everyone in the room was staring at them. Neither of them acknowledged it. “Play again tomorrow?” Miller asked the room.

“You’re going down,” Jasper said from his spot at his desk. 

 _Later tonight, maybe_ , Miller thought. Monty seemed to think this too, if his smile was any indication of this. 

Maybe Catan wasn’t all that bad after all. 


End file.
